Page 109 of Of Salt and Air

Orla and I hang on to each other until the battering rain lightens into a soft dimpling, and I water the soil with my tears.

CORDELIA

WINTER

Winter rolls in without a warning.

I start accompanying Orla into the village, greeting the neighbors and visiting the market.

We end most days with a round of Queen’s Quest while we drink mugs of hot chocolate beside the fireplace. Zephyr hasn’t returned, but it’s too cold to sleep in the greenhouse.

I move their wishflower into their old bedroom, setting the pot on the sill beside a row of miniature houses.

Every night, once I’m cocooned in blankets, I tell them everything they missed that day. Before I fall asleep, I make the same wish for them to come back to me.

The soil stays damp with my tears.

CORDELIA

SPRING

Bees buzz around plump clusters of grape hyacinths as I take Zephyr’s wishflower for a stroll.

“I met with my sisters this morning. They’re discussing how to split the ocean back into six autonomous sections.” I pet the pot lovingly. “I brought a few things down to the temple of the Undine, but I didn’t stay very long. I wish you’d been there with me.”

I narrate everything I see as I walk around the blooming flowers. “Orla is reading in the garden. I’m going to attempt to make honey butter crepes tomorrow, but I’m not sure they’ll be as good as yours.”

I sense someone behind me, and my heart races with hope that quickly plunges into the pit of my stomach as I see Kyle the Kelpie dressed in slacks and a tweed coat.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“I wanted to see how you were doing,” he says, his eyes moving past me to Orla. “Who is that goddess?”

“That’s my sister.” I throw an arm out to block his view. “Don’t look at her like that.”

He uses two fingers to lower my arm gently. “She’s my mate, actually.”

Orla looks up from her book and arches an eyebrow, examining Kyle. She marks her page and closes her book. “Alright, then. Let’s go for a stroll.”

They walk off to the greenhouse together, and I whisper to Zephyr’s flower. “That was strange. Please come back to me.”

CORDELIA

SUMMER

The sun burns hot in Sorciere, so I dip into the sea more often now, escaping the heat while giving Orla and Kyle their privacy.

I bring items down to the temple, tidying the collection. I try to keep it in order in case any mermaid ever gets curious and heeds the call to learn the magic of divine transformation.

At night, I swing on the hammock and talk to Zephyr in the greenhouse, making the same wish as always.

“I’ll take you in any form,” I tell them. “Just come back to me, please.”